Behind the Scenes – TCR #1383

Over the weekend we showed you sandhill cranes soaring above the Texas Panhandle, and it truly is a breathtaking sight. It was also about the coldest I’ve ever been in my life. We had to be in place and still before sunrise so as not to spook the birds. We were wandering through the tall grass by 5am, freezing our tails off trying to set up cameras, tripods and microphones in the pitch black. Let me tell you, hot coffee and a coat is no match for the West Texas wind in winter.

We showed up thinking we would film the birds in the morning, interview Jude Smith, and call it a day. However, it was so cold our camera batteries died in a few minutes. Imagine standing in the middle of a dark field, shivering, numb, and disappointed. That was our experience, until Jude offered to take us out again that night to see the cranes return.

We got a second chance to witness nature’s beauty, and this time the cameras were rolling the whole time.